"We need only embrace ourselves in conscious awareness, with deep knowledge and without judgment, to feel God" (Shulman pg 16).

"Being with God is a nondual state. This means it can never be achieved by choosing only one side of reality in reaction to a less preferred condition or state" (Shulman pg 56).

"The ego likes to think it can achieve a state called 'enlightenment,' and then its work will be finished. But 'awakened' just means you'd better roll up your sleeves and pay attention, because life continues to happen" (Shulman pg 70).

From reviewers:

"Here are a few of my favorite excerpts from this gloriously poetic, healing book:
"The hardest job in the world is to be simply and fully human."
"When we have problems, we imagine a different sort of life where there are no problems and then attempt to get there...There is no life but this one. There are not two lives, one better than the other. True change begins with a relationship with what is actually present in the Now."
"God cannot be known secondhand...God comes from the heart and not from a book. You must think God up for yourself."
"The bruised apple is still good for making pies. In other words, trust in the Creator to see the good that even you yourself cannot see. Your sorrows do not need to disappear for you to be good in God's eyes. Therefore you need never hide any part of yourself again."
"There is no form of freedom that does not include our limitations and suffering."
"All neurosis is an obsession with memory."
"Your ongoing life is the furnace that brings human warmth into the world."
"Every story about a vision quest or spiritual journey ends with the hero discovering something that was in him or her all along...Trust that everything you need is already within you."
The Instruction Manual for Receiving God shows us how to move from lost to found, from rejected to accepted, from wounded to healed, from wandering to rooted. Like Dorothy, we can come to realize that "we had it all along"--and that there's no place like Home.
And where is Home? It's right where you are sitting, my Friend."
—Janet Boyer, Hall of Fame Vine Voice, October 24, 2006

"Jason's new book is like the clear scent of a flower calling us home. As my dad and my first husband were dying they both said the same thing: "It's time to go home." Listening to each I thought, "Why can't I go home while I am still alive?" This book opens to us that way home, not by re-making our life into something other than what it is, but by guiding us as we take every bit and morsel of it as the nourishment we need to be truly at home in our life and body."
—Mary K. Bernsteinon October 2, 2000

"If God is - Always-Present-Everywhere - and is most desirous of being Found, then our Relationship with this Being is unalterably different from the way that most of us approach it. This is a book that is profound in its simplicity, its depth and its wisdom. It is a human roadmap to that which is paradoxically both BEYOND US and yet at the same time may quite possibly represent our ultimate Identity. In my opinion, it is must reading for anyone whose Spirit and Consciousness is so engaged."
—Stephen Mallson October 12, 2006

"This book does not encourage false forays into imaginary worlds where there is no suffering of any sort, where some magical notion of spirit has whitewashed reality into a palatable dollop. Instead, the words in this book seek to awaken you to the truth of God, that perspective and level of integration that allow you to be separate and one with the universe at the same time. It seeks to put life into perspective and to make our lives something worth living, despite the hardships inherent in the situation in which we find ourselves."
—From the book

"Rare is the day that I read a book but instead enter a peaceful sanctuary. It is equally rare for me to discover a book that depressurizes the air surrounding the human condition and the idea of spirituality.
The Instruction Manual for Receiving God does not advocate the destruction or transcendence of the ego, nor does it promote striving to reach a superhuman ideal. There are no flights into magical thinking, denials of the difficult or dualistic notions of God being "here" but not "there".
Instead, this seminal work disseminates forbidden knowledge--ideas so profoundly simple and shockingly sublime that to peer into this deep well of mystery is to see the face of God.
According to author Jason Shulman, you--yes, you!--already have what you need to receive God. In fact, "you have your own song, and God has a ticket to your concert. If you are shy, God, being God, will sing for you."
—Janet Boyer, Hall of Fame Vine Voice, October 24, 2006

"In those moments when all you can hear is the house creak and the dog change positions, I like to pick up this book and read one or two of what the author calls seed passages. It's that kind of book. The author provides joyfully lively and thought provoking portals for the contemporary seeker's spiritual envisioning regardless of the readers' religious or non-religious identification. It is a small book with big ideas. Mr. Shulman's languaging, explanations and examples, in this his second book, are extremely clear, to the point and easily understood., The profound perspectives offered present many varied opportunities for the healing integration of body, mind, heart, and spirit into a place of embodied fullness and awakened consciousness. I find this book deeply transformative, full of delight and would recommend this book to all seeking devotional insight."
—RKGon January 16, 2007

"I feel happy that there is a book that makes known the true kindness of God: That God embraces the human condition just as it is and we can be with God just as we are. This book is written with a living and embodied wisdom by someone who understands our deep need for a relationship with God that lets us relax and be ourselves. It is also written with great kindness towards the condition(s) we find ourselves in as human beings. I'd have to say that kindness is the heart of this book.

The Seed Passages unlock my mind and heart (and even my feet) to reveal God in this place, right now. Practicing receiving God in this way helps me to work with my longing to be in (or go to) some other place in order to be with God. I can just be myself, right here, at my cozy desk, and be with God, too. This makes getting on with the tasks of life much easier as pining to be (or worse, fantasizing about being) elsewhere in order to find God is such a painful energy drain.

In another piece of writing called "The MAGI Process," Jason Shulman writes, 'The world settled down is God.' "The Instruction Manual for Receiving God" is a walk through the settled down ground, and a felt sense of the divine plays on every page. This is one of those books you can walk with, and in, at the same time. I highly recommend it as a guide book for the great spiritual journey to one's humanity."
—Erin Mintaon October 2, 2006

"In the Jewish tradition is Jason Shulman's The Instruction Manual for Receiving God. Shulman, a Kabbalaist who has also drunk deeply from the well of Buddhist Dharma, is the founder of A Society of Souls, a school based in New Jersey dedicated to awakening the human spirit.

Shulman writes in a direct but low-key manner, presenting us with 108 (a number favored by Buddhists) "seed passages" which he invites us to meditate and reflect on.
The core message that Shulman delivers is that it is not so much God who is elusive, but rather, it is we who tend to hide ourselves and make ourselves unavailable to God. We think that because we are imperfect, we must not let God see us, but, in fact, it is in embracing our imperfection, in this moment, exactly how we are, that awakening and enlightenment become possible.

For example, one of the seed passages states that "God receives us just as we are. But we don't receive ourselves in the same way. We don't love ourselves as we our. Our deepest work is not so much to improve ourselves as to realize ourselves, to see ourselves clearly and dearly." Then, the commentary on this passage concludes that, "The secret here is that we are not practicing being better than we are. We are simply practicing kindness toward who and what we are."

I found some of the passages to be truly enlightening, while others failed to hit home. But overall, as I read this book, I found myself cheering on Shulman's message about being here, now, exactly as we are, with all our imperfections and warts. Forget about the notion of a single "Big Bang" or spiritual enlightenment, the Kosmic Orgasm that sets you free forever and lifts your spirit permanently into the clouds. That's not what life is about, that's not what being human is about, and while this sort of thing does occasionally happen to people, it doesn't happen because you want it to happen or try to make it happen.

Again, be here now, with whoever you are with, doing whatever you are doing. Open a page, read a seed passage, and let Jason Shulman's wisdom flow into you.
—Jordan Gruberon November 6, 2006

"Who knew that God seeks me? Who knew that humanity is Divine? This book makes me want to be human because it illuminates humanity and begs me to be exactly who I am, what I am, and where I am. It doesn't tell me how to rise above it. It's truly an instruction manual for loving myself, and in that process, I receive God."
—Dianne L. Polsenoon October 17, 2006.

"What a wonderful book, simple and clear from cover to page. Jason has been one of my most important teachers, and I have read all that he has published in the 10 years I've studied with him. Everything till now has educated me and assisted me on my spiritual path, but nothing has touched my heart as this book does. It is the very best of his teaching, soul to soul, heart to heart, breath to breath. More than words to study, these are words to soothe, inspire, remind, restore and heal all who are willing to take them in. It is a great gift to have the heart of his teaching accessible in a form I can pick up and partake of any time my soul needs a long, cool drink of reality. Definitely one of those desert island picks!"
—Amazon Customer on October 10, 2006

"Easy reading, highly inspirational. Read it like drinking fine liquor - a little bit at a time, letting the words sink in and be carried on their wisdom on the days that follow."
—R. Diamondon January 5, 2007

"Life is a journey to see how big our hearts can get." ~ Jason Shulman

Jason Shulman presents short quotes and longer passages to open the heart to receiving God. He believes we are on this earth to awaken to God and that this life is the best teacher we can have to evolve as souls and awaken to our birthright.

Making yourself available to God seems to be the main theme as God is ever present in our lives whether we are acknowledging his presence or still awakening to the knowledge of God's love.

"Have compassion for your ego. It is doing two important jobs at once, which often puts it in agonizing conflict with itself. The ego's first job is to maintain the integrity of the individual, personal self. It simultaneously has the job of seeking out the larger view in which the personal self is only a part. Both are needed." ~Jason Shulman

This book takes a variety of ideas and brings them into pure focus. For one, the issue of the ego is treated with a much more balanced approach. Various issues are not items to eradicate from our lives, but elements to nurture. A healing of the ego instead of an attempt to evolve away from the ego. This is explained by showing how the healed ego has moved away from being self-centered and alone to a more kosmocentric experience.

Jason Shulman's Instruction Manual for Receiving God reads like a deep sigh of peace and is not only spiritually healing, it brings together a number of spiritual beliefs to form a more coherent whole and this brings emotional calm and a sense of completion.
—The Rebecca Review, Amazon Hall of Fame, Top 500 Reviewer Vine Voice, November 21, 2006

Poet-In-Residence Position​I am looking for guest blog opportunities and a position as poet-in-residence. My current project is writing dictionary poems using words in different languages for the English word "peace." You can read some of my poems on Poemhunter .As poet-in-residence I would write poems on different words in different languages and broadcast them throughout the social media blogosphere. Each poem would link back to your site where the word or language appeared.I would expect some sort of stipend and a six month to one year placement. Please contact me for details if your organization is interested in having a poet-in-residence to help get your message out. Nervewhisperer@gmial.com

Daily reminders are set up for the peace word of the day. [Put it on your phone}​Medical research indicates that learning a new language after age 50 or figuring out puzzles or singing, playing music and reading rhythmical poetry can help decrease the chances of Alzheimer's and dementia as well as improve brain plasticity and function.

This calendar is not a new language but is the language of peace or the words for peace in hundreds of different languages. It will take five years to learn or meditate on the 2000 different words for peace found here.

To learn the word for peace (one word a day) in every known language is perhaps a 20-year project but if you start with today's word it will bring you more inner peace, spread community peace and increase the sense of calm and tranquility throughout the world. Your brain health and pattern recognition skills will also benefit.

These exercises and poems are meant to decrease stress, increase conscious awareness and increase your ability to see the opportunities to grow and connect in the world around you.